BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Commercial fishermen have been hit hard during the coronavirus pandemic with almost no one to sell their product to. They’ve lost some 90 percent of their business with restaurants closing down, or just doing limited take-out.
But while the wholesale market has closed, a new direct retail channel has opened. In Portsmouth New Hampshire, a group of fishermen have created a Facebook page where locals are placing orders before showing up at the pier and getting fresh fish right off the boat.
New Hampshire Community Seafood General Manager Andrea Tomlinson tells WBZ-TV, the product doesn’t get much fresher — or more direct. “This is a really safe product,” she says. “It travels through a limited set of hands before it gets to you. In this case, it travels through one set of hands, the stearn-man!”
Fishermen say direct retail helps, but the industry is still suffering. Some say they don’t know how much longer they can hold on to their business, but hope there’s enough money in the stimulus package to offset lost revenue.
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App
(Getty Images)